I’ve deliberately left the title blank so that both you and I can fill in the rest. If self-examining there is a lot of stuff that I can put in that blank spot and thus conclude that I have absolutely no implied, inherited or given right to point an accusatory finger any another human being; not just the guy who lives in this linear time with me now, but also those who have gone before and will arrive afterwards. But, most of all, what has just spoken to my Spirit is the message, “Then child, stop pointing that finger at yourself!”
John 8:7 But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
To “sin” simply means to miss the mark, the target. What is man’s target, man’s purpose in life? Collectively we all have the same purpose, do we not? YHWH made us in His image – for fellowship with Him. After creating first man, with the passage of time, I believe we lost focus, forgot about our reason for be-ing, for being human beings. Even the first “sin” – it was because of an external or worldly temptation; the physical had a thought, the thought took hold and then became a reality, we acted upon our thoughts which came to rule over what we knew to be the good, the perfect, the right thing to do. And what happened when confronted? Did we fess up? Nope, we not only lied, but we “cast the first stone” of accusation; we pointed the finger and blamed someone else, external, for what was conceived within ourself, what we gave birth to and acted upon. Even if the other person did or said something that might have suggestion or even directed that we take up the action, ultimately the choice was ours to make. We chose, we made a mistake, we missed the mark, and yet, we blamed. The other person, well he blamed the one who did it. But, did he own up; did he fess up that he too was tempted, that perhaps had not the female taken the first step, he may very well have done the same thing? Not at all, for he thought it was covered up, a hidden secret and if he never spoke it, then it would never become a reality.
But we are told in the Word, and this I do believe, that if we have “lust” or “anger” or “hatred” within ourselves, our thoughts, we have at that very point, missed the mark, have sinned!
Let the words of my mouth and the mediations of my heart be acceptable in thy site O Lord.
Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Philippians 4:8 For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
If I can keep that prayer, those words foremost in my mind, then I will not have time to blame you for anything and the spring cleaning of my heart will continue as I continue that prayer. There will be new seeds planted in the garden of my heart that will give birth to that which is acceptable, right, perfect and pleasing to the Father’s Heart; that will birth fruitful trees of righteousness as the soil is tilled and the seed springs forth into reality, watered by the living waters of the Spirit.
A world saying now comes to mind, “To forgive is human, to forget is divine!” Wow what a double blessing that one is, for even though I might not readily or even always forgive you (let alone forgive me!) for some perceived wrong, ultimately I will and even at times, indeed forget about that perceived wrong or injustice. To me, that is indeed divine Grace, to have my memory wiped clean of that thing, for it is a double-edged sword that I wield, and I am afraid it is I who receives the really sharp edge and who bleeds and suffers. When I remain engulfed in anger, when I blame you my focus is external and not internal and I will never be able to find what is needed for the healing to take place, the separation removed.
As I go forward in my life, that is this moment only which is promised to me for I am in it, and I cross your path, meet up with you and perhaps think I see something or hear something in or from you that stirs up a wrong emotion or feeling within me, my prayer is that I will indeed not “shoot the messenger,” but will see you as a mirror of some imperfection within me that I need to see, that I might come before the Lord, my Creator, and seek His forgiveness for my short comings, my failure(s) (not yours). Then and only then will I stop casting the stone of accusation at you and begin to heal; heal me and in some small way heal the tiny corner of space in linear time that I occupy at this moment.
